Queens County Conservatives Welcomes Wal-Mart

Queens County Conservative Party | June 19, 2006 | Raquel Lacomba Walker

[Raquel]

For Immediate Press Release Contact: Thomas M. Long (718) 921-2158

Queens County Conservatives reject efforts by elected officials to keep Wal-Mart out of Queens. Wal-Mart, a world-wide company and household name, was in negotiations to purchase the Caldor store at Main Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Flushing and invest $5 to $10 million in its renovation. The project, previously scheduled to begin as early as July 2006, was halted when elected officials intervened. Members of the City Council claim that Wal-Mart is not “suitable” or “welcome” in Queens. Congressman Anthony Weiner made the baseless statement that Wal-Mart would be a “crime magnet.” Queens County Chairman Tom Long said, “The idea that Wal-Mart would increase crime is ridiculous. There is no doubt that Wal-Mart will create jobs and save shoppers money.”

Wal-Mart sells a mix of domestic products from apparel to groceries. Starting from its first store in 1962, it has grown to over 3,700 stores in the United States alone. Wal-Mart’s biggest appeal for consumers is discount prices with a variety of products. Wal-Mart estimates that one store in New York City would provide 300 jobs and generate a yearly tax revenue of $5 million. The tax payer saves money by shopping at the discount store and the City loses tax revenue every time a Queens' resident drives to Long Island in order to shop there. When the super-store opened at Oakland, California last year, more than 11,000 people applied for 400 positions. It is not the consumers nor the workers who are complaining, but the politicians grandstanding.

The real reason elected officials are snubbing Wal-Mart is because its employees are not unionized. Unions donate large sums of money to politicians who support their point of view. Since unions thrive on more unions, when a mega-store like Wal-Mart opens, union leaders believe their organization will suffer. But the plain truth is, people who apply for jobs at Wal-Mart are mostly teenagers who are insured by their parents, senior citizens already insured by Medicare, and stay-at-home moms already insured by their husbands, all of whom want to work part time. Hardly the type of workers unions are looking for anyway.

Wal-Mart should be free to compete in the New York City market, which encourages economic growth and gives consumers better options. Queens County Conservatives welcome Wal-Mart and refuse to be bullied by union leaders and their political cohorts.

**END**

[firebrand]

I'm going to start an organization called Conservatives for Government Health Insurance. I'm tired of paying more than one-fifth of my income for health-insurance premiums alone, and then taxes on top of that for all the people who don't have insurance. The middle class and upper middle class are getting it in the neck. File under W, for What Else Is New?

[Raquel]

God bless you. It sounds great to me. Any nearby farms for sale?

[Raquel]

Frankly, Toni, the title itself scares me. But I know you're not alone in this course of action. But if you think one-fifth of your salary is bad, just think how much your taxes will go up if the government has to pay for everyone's health insurance. And that same government health insurance that we're all paying for with are tax funds, will also pay for abortions, breast implants, Viagra, ect. ect. O.k. maybe not in the beginning, but you can't trust government to handle this burden, without screwing it up.

[Gabz]

As a matter of fact, there is a great deal of land for sale in these parts.

We lucked out when we bought 3 years ago.........there is a place for sale 2 miles south of us, on a lot smaller than what we had with the townhouse we sold to move here that is on the market for nearly 3times what we paid for this place........and we've got 2 acres.

[thulldud]

Graft in this sense might be considered a sort of improvement, I suppose.

[firebrand]

There would have to be controls in place, so that it is handled the way Medicare is, at low cost, not the way Medicaid is in New York State, full of fraud.

Eliminate the insurance companies, who are in business to keep our health care at a minimum and their profits at a maximum. Something like health care should not be a for-profit enterprise.

The reform should be done under a Republican Congress to avoid all the things you mention. Important to control waiting times, too, so we don't need to suffer the problems of the Canadian and British systems.

The richest country in the world can do it! Otherwise they are impoverishing people who have the gall to be self-employed, work for a small business, or, God forbid, get sick.